With the start of spring, many of us begin planning our gardens, including weeding, raking, and preparing for planting. Gardening has many health benefits, but injuries can occur. The low back can be particularly susceptible to injury during gardening as bending, lifting, and squatting can cause you to twist your body into awkward positions or to overstretch, leading to muscle strains or sprains. Check out our 8 tips to prevent low back pain this gardening season!

Sciatica is nerve pain that radiates from the low back through the buttocks and down the length of the leg due to compression of the sciatic nerve. Originating in the low back, the sciatic nerve is most commonly compressed by a herniated or slipped disc, causing shooting pain and tingling and numbness through the back and leg. Physical therapy is one of the most effective treatments for sciatica, reducing inflammation, managing and minimizing pain, improving your physical function and mobility, and preventing the reoccurrence of sciatica symptoms.

Spondylolysis is a lumbar stress fracture in the pars interarticularis, the bony bridge that connects the upper and lower facet joints of the vertebrae. Spondylolysis is a common cause of low back pain in adolescent athletes, caused by repetitive loading, backward bending, and twisting of the lower back. Physical therapy can successfully manage spondylolysis in adolescent athletes, helping to reduce pain, improve strength and function in the low back, and safely return athletes to sports competition.

Spinal stenosis is a degenerative condition of the spine that involves narrowing of the openings within the vertebrae of the spinal column that results in too much pressure on the spinal cord and nerves, causing pain and weakness in the low back. Spinal stenosis can develop after the age of 50 due to the effect of aging and osteoarthritic wear and tear on the spine and spinal vertebrae. Physical therapy provides an effective treatment for spinal stenosis, helping patients regain function, mobility, and strength in their low back and relieving compression of the spinal nerves.

On the blog, Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapist Bobby demonstrates exercises to relieve acute low back pain. Low back pain is the most common condition treated by physical therapists, affecting 30% of Americans each year. Low back pain can involve dull, burning, throbbing, sharp, or shooting pain in the lumbar spine and through the buttocks and leg. Physical therapy is the first line of treatment for low back pain. A physical therapist can improve and restore mobility in the low back as well as reduce low back pain without expensive surgery or pain medications.